1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for filming and, in particular, microfilming documents and determination and storage of their film position data, and the evaluation of these data for document reproduction from the microfiche.
The invention further relates to an apparatus for the automatic microfilming of documents of different formats and development of exposed microfiche.
The invention further relates to a combination of a computer with a retrieval device, a camera or a projector for rapid location and reproduction of a document from a microfiche.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Microfilming is an outstanding method of preservation of documents of all types and/or for space saving location and reproduction of literature passages. Microfilming is especially suitable, and therefore used extensively, for very different applications, such as banks, libraries, industrial companies, institutes and patent offices, both domestically and abroad.
Cameras for microfilming are known where documents to be filmed are taken up individually by hand. The exposure of a microfiche is followed separately and with a special camera or specific auxiliary device by the filming of the title and the document identification. The individual microfiche of a series are counted by the operator, which for the exposure of the serial number and/or the date on the microfiche, must prepare an appropriate image and film it.
Following these operations, the microfiche is transported to an automatic developing device, known in itself, which puts out the exposed film in the developed and dried state.
Numerous users of the microfilm technology find it necessary to expose large volumes of documents, often with different formats, in the shortest possible time. In many applications, both the front and reverse side along with appropriate identification (not present in themselves on the documents) such as record numbers, film identifications, or the like must be reproduced. Operations of this type are highly labor-intensive with the devices known at this time and require much time. Furthermore, erroneous identifications are easily possible, so that the entire filming of, for example 94 documents, must be repeated.
European Patent Document EP-A 84 10 27 10, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,061, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein, shows an apparatus of the inventor for microfilming and developing, whereby the automatic filming of a large number of documents is possible. The front and reverse sides of a document may be imaged selectively and simultaneously and counting is automatic. The same camera may film the title, a company identification, and a continuous and variable characteristic, such as for example the date, carried out in the same operation with the document filming, i.e., continuously, but the title itself is included and as a standing image.
With this known apparatus, filming is possible in a continuous or flow process. A still image process is possible by switching or replacement of a few structural elements. Such an apparatus is used in the present invention also.